


An Inside Job

by frizz22



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Spoilers, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-02-26 13:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13236891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frizz22/pseuds/frizz22
Summary: AU of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. "That's why it has to be an inside job. From someone they know and trust." Re-examining Nate and Chloe's relationship during the game and Chloe's role as a double agent.Summary sucks, but please give it a chance. Would love feedback.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I took a lot of the cut scenes and expanded on them, provided insight to Chloe and Nate's thoughts. Also included my own scenes.

They had narrowly escaped the temple after Lazarevic’s men had ambushed them there, taking a brief refuge in a dilapidated building. Chloe quickly assessed their exit strategies…they’d all but cornered themselves. The only way out was a 10 foot drop and then a dead sprint down an alley to who knows where. But they’d have to move fast if they didn’t want to end up riddled with bullets.

She turned to Nate who was setting Jeff on the ground, propping him against an overturned table. “Nate, okay, you tried. But it’s over, he can’t go any further!” Chloe pled with him, trying to get him to see reason and not just blindly be the hero. 

“We can’t just leave him here to die” Nate stated, still bent over the wounded man. 

“He is as good as dead already and so are we if we don’t go now!” Chloe argued, pacing the room with frustration and anxiety rolling off her. 

“Then go.” He replied, barely looking at her. This stopped Chloe mid-step, was he really going to do this? Force her to choose between living and saving the dead-man walking? 

“Yeah, nobody’s stopping you” Elena threw in, looking at Chloe with disgust. 

Chloe advanced towards Elena, fully prepared to set a few things straight with her, “look here Blondie,” she began. 

Nate, sensing her intentions, held up a hand and called warningly, “Chloe...” but was cut off by a crash and a voice down below. 

Chloe made a small sound of defeat, before positioning herself between Nate and the stairwell. Voice cracking slightly, “I was trying to save your skin you idiot.” She reluctantly pointed her gun at Nate as he stood up, careful that her finger was nowhere near the trigger. 

The way Nate looked at her cut Chloe to the bone, it was a look of confusion and betrayal. Before he could say anything, Harry charged into the room, gun drawn. He paused as he took in the scene, “Chloe?” He questioned, unsure of what was happening. 

Chloe kept her gaze on Nate, “I’m sorry” she breathed, as the other armed men entered the room and disarmed Nate and Elena. 

Harry grabbed Chloe’s arm and handed her off to the other soldiers, “get her out of here. She’s hurt, take her to the train.” 

Chloe glanced at Nate once more as she was led out of the room. Nate just furrowed his brow and scoffed as she departed. She restrained herself from turning around and smacking him; he was the one who’d put her in this position. The one who said it had to be an inside job, that she needed to be a double agent. Yet here he was, believing the worst of her the second she played the part he’d assigned her. 

Chloe passed Lazarevic on the way done and her heart leapt into her throat. She wanted to call out a warning, anything to get Nate out of there. But it wouldn’t do any good, they were already trapped, all it would do is get her killed in the process. 

The warmonger stopped them in at the bottom of the stairs and eyed her with suspicion. “Where are you taking her?” He demanded of the soldiers escorting her. 

“Flynn said to take her to the train, sir” came the prompt reply. 

Lazarevic peered at her for a moment longer and then nodded, “good. Secure her in one of the front cars for questioning” he then stalked upstairs to deal with Nate. The soldiers began to drag Chloe away, her feet stumbling and refusing to respond. ‘Secured for questioning’ by a man known for torture and mutilation…perhaps she should have let herself be captured with Nate after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some violence, nothing I would consider graphic, but warning just in case. I don't believe Lazarevic didn't suspect her before this point, with all the stuff that was happening and the situations they found her in. So this is probably the biggest break from the game.  
> ~~~~~~ indicates time jump

She’d heard the gunfire and explosions from the train car she’d been tied up in. God, how she hoped that it was Nate and not just the rebels. Where she’d disparaged him for being a hero before, she dearly hoped that he was still playing the part. But he didn’t have much time if it was him, she could already feel the vibrations of the train as it prepared to leave, the slow rumble of the wheels beginning to turn.

The train was picking up speed, there’d be no daring rescue of the damsel in distress today, she thought, bumping her head against the wall behind her a few times. Well, it’s not like she was ever the type heroes chose to save anyway, that was for women like Blondie. And Nate had proven this by insisting Elena and the camera man join them, by refusing to leave Jeff even though he’d been fatally shot, by taking Elena’s side over hers—even when hers was the only logical way forward. Before she could continue that thought, however, Lazarevic entered the train car, with Harry scurrying behind. 

“Uncuff her” he instructed Harry. Once she was free from her bounds, Chloe stood cautiously, never taking her eyes off Lazarevic. “You are working with Drake” it was a statement, not a question. Though Lazarevic expected a response from her anyway. 

“No, I’m not. I’m the reason you caught them in the first place, not my fault your men couldn’t finish the job.” Chloe answered, voice steady even as she crossed her arms to hide the slight shaking of her hands. 

“Lying bitch!” Lazarevic roared, dealing a brutal backhand across her cheek. The blow sent Chloe reeling into the train wall before she hit the floor. She barely heard Harry’s outraged shout over the ringing in her ears. 

“You’ve been working with Drake this whole time!” He screamed, slashing his hand through the air. “I do not tolerate traitors.” At this Lazarevic pulled out his knife, the same one she’d seen him kill another man with earlier in the trip for stealing artifacts. She’d be lucky to receive such a quick end. 

Carefully, Chloe lifted herself off the floor and met Lazarevic’s eyes directly. “Treat all your employees this way?” She deadpanned, involuntarily raising her hand to her cheek to assess the damage. Perhaps she could provoke him into killing her faster than he planned. Instead of using his knife, however, Lazarevic grabbed the front of Chloe’s shirt and slammed her into the wall. The impact had little lights exploding before her eyes. 

“Whoa, whoa, hey!” Harry jumped forward trying to deescalate the situation. “Chloe’s no traitor! She’s the one who caught them in Borneo and here as well.” The man tried to appease his employer. Lazarevic responded by grabbing Harry’s throat, the knife now pressed to Chloe’s who was too dazed to move. “Hey, you need me to find Shambhala” Harry rasped, “and I need her to do it.” 

Lazarevic threw Harry back in disgust and called out for his men waiting in the next compartment. “Get him out of my sight. I need time with her to get the information I require.” With that, Harry was shoved protesting into the next train car. “Now,” Lazarevic turned to Chloe once more. “You are going to answer my questions, or face the consequences.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Flynn seems to think you are still on our side. I am disinclined to agree. But, I do still need his expertise to find Shambhala. This is the only reason you are still alive, understand?” Lazarevic looked down at Chloe where she was now laying on the floor. It felt like his interrogation had gone on for an hour, when likely it’d only been 15 minutes. Chloe made no sign that she’d heard the man, the pain from his “questioning” was fogging her thoughts, making it hard to concentrate. Lazarevic reached down and yanked Chloe’s head back by her ponytail. “I said, do you understand?” 

“Yes” she croaked, gasping in relief when he released her. 

“I am sure you are aware, I have much more creative ways to get information from people. I have gone easy on you thus far.” 

“Is that what you call it?” she quipped, bracing herself for another kick—the price for her insolence; she wasn’t disappointed. The impact landed on several of her already throbbing ribs; forcing a whimper through her clenched teeth. 

“But if you continue to test me, you’ll discover new definitions for the word pain.” Lazarevic continued as if she hadn’t spoken. 

“I’ve already told you, I’m not working with Drake” Chloe hissed, her breathes coming in harsh and ragged bursts. Lazarevic grabbed her wrist her wrenched her into a sitting position before striking her hard across the face again and letting her hit the floor with a dull thud. Chloe groaned, tasting blood, her lower lip had split from the blow. 

“I believe you are the one who shot my men in Borneo, allowing Drake and Sullivan to escape” another kick. “You gave them the dagger” another kick in the same spot. “You assisted Drake in finding the location of the temple in Nepal—again killing my men.” This time he twisted her left arm painfully behind her back and held it there. “And you still expect me to believe you are working for me.” He breathed in her ear as a guttural cry escaped her lips. Lazarevic shoved her to the ground roughly. She cradled her arm to her chest and rolled to her back to try and relieve the pressure on her ribs. 

Before she could process his actions, Lazarevic was straddling her, his large hands gripping her throat mercilessly. Chloe let out a strangled shout and attempted to defend herself for the first time since the ‘questioning’ had begun. 

Just then the door banged open, “Sir, Drake is on the train” a frantic soldier informed his boss. Lazarevic immediately released her and stood, cursing. 

“Handcuff her to a seat and guard her.” He indicated to Chloe as she gulped and coughed on the floor. 

“Sir, why not just get rid of her?” The soldier inquired. 

“You are not to question me!” Lazarevic thundered, making the young man cower. “But her life is now part of the price our expert has set, so see to it that she lives” with that Lazarevic left the room. 

Rough hands gripped her upper arms once again, hoisting her up and shoving her forward. Chloe collapsed onto the first bench possible and didn’t bother protesting as the soldier handcuffed one of her wrists to the metal armrest. 

The soldier guarded her dutifully for several minutes, before going off to where the ‘real action’ was taking place, further back on the train; clearly thinking that she wasn’t a threat. Chloe grunted, typical male, underestimating her simply because of the line of work they were in…well she’d use it to her advantage as she had countless times before. 

Forcing herself to sit up, Chloe pulled a pin out of her hair. She made relatively quick work of the lock on the handcuff, considering the jostling of the train and the aching of what felt like her entire body. 

Standing slowly, Chloe clutched her ribs with her left hand, clinging to the bench next to her. She allowed a moment to pass so that her head wasn’t swimming as much from the sudden motion. Turning, Chloe began to search the many storage crates in the car with her; by the third one she found a pistol. Bloody idiots, she thought, but wasn’t going to complain that they had left loaded weapons and a poorly secured prisoner in the same area. 

Apparently, Nate had come to get to her…or maybe he was just trying to get the dagger back. Either way, it was time to find him and get him off this train while there was still a chance.


	3. Chapter 3

“Saving my ass again, you alright?” Nate joked, turning to face Chloe, the smile dying on his lips when he got a good look at her. 

“Get off the train, Nate.” She ordered, now pointing the gun at him. 

“What are you talking about? You have any idea what I’ve been through?” He asked, incredulous at her behavior. “I came for you…” he trailed off as he more closely examined her injuries. The blood on her lip had crusted over, a large, dark bruise covered her one cheek, and bruises shaped like fingers ringed her throat, upper arms and left wrist which was held tightly against her ribs. “Chloe…” 

“I never asked for any of your bloody heroics.” She stalked away from him, though he could see how stiffly she held herself—as if trying to minimize any extra movement that would increase the pain. 

“Chloe, we don’t have time for this!” He shouted exasperated, approaching her. 

“You’re right! So, get off the train while you still can.” She responded, matching his volume, and despite her tone she’d lowered the gun, so it pointed at the floor. 

“And leave you with them?” Nate huffed in disbelief and gesturing towards the front of the train where Lazarevic and more of his men were holed up. 

“You made your choice.” She stated, turning to walk away again, her voice becoming more monotone—trying to show that she didn’t care. Chloe hoped that by hurting him she could get him to leave, that she could protect him. 

“What did you expect me to do?” Nate demanded, throwing his hands up in frustration. 

“I expected you to have my back!” She declared angrily, losing her resolve to contain her emotions and rounding on him once more. 

“I had your back!” He exclaimed affronted by her accusation. 

“How could you possibly with the other two on yours?” Chloe finished, her eyes shining. 

That’s when Nate realized she was right, he’d asked her to be the inside man, to play a dangerous game and then he’d put her in an impossible situation. One that essentially outed her as a spy to the war criminal they were racing against. “Chlo, come with me.” He pleaded gently, reaching out a hand towards her. 

“And what’s your exit strategy, huh cowboy?” She drawled, taking a small step back from him, still hugging her side. “Jump off the speeding train?” She gestured towards the window, drawing attention to the landscape flashing past. “As you might have noticed, I’m in no condition for that.” She referred to her injuries for the first time in such a flat voice that Nate’s heart ached. 

“What happened?” he asked, though he already knew the answer. He had happened, had chosen Elena and left Chloe with the only option that kept her alive—even if it was a poor one. 

“Apparently, I’m not as good a liar as we thought” Chloe tried to smile and winced. 

“Give me a damage report” he requested softly, closing the distance between them a little more. 

“It doesn’t change or help anything. And you need to leave, now, while you still can.” 

“What happened?” He stubbornly repeated. 

“Oh, bumps and bruises. Probably a concussion, nothing I can’t handle.” Chloe responded, some of her usual confidence creeping back into her voice. “And don’t worry, I didn’t tell Lazarevic anything.” 

“What? That’s not what I worried about.” Nate insisted, hurt that she assumed he cared more for what potential information she’d given away under duress than for her well-being. “What about your ribs? Your arm?” He indicated to how she was holding herself. 

“Ah, well. Don’t think they’re broken, just a little worse for wear.” At Nate’s skeptical look, Chloe added, “Bruised, like I said before. May be bone deep bruises, but I’ve had worse.” 

“Come with me!” He beseeched her again, his eyes lingering on the darkening marks on her throat, guilt and worry bubbling up inside him with increasing speed. 

Shaking her head, Chloe answered with another, “get off the train. I can’t do any daring escapes right now. But you still can.” 

Frustrated, Nate paced away from her. Turning back, he yelled at her, “no! You know, I can’t believe” but before he could finish there was a gun shot. They looked at one another shocked, before Nate stumbled and clutched at his bleeding side. 

“No” Chloe breathed in disbelief, as Harry walked up behind her still pointing his slightly smoking gun at Nate. 

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Harry sneered. “What? No witty remark? Nothing clever to say?” He taunted, advancing on Nate and aiming his gun once more. 

“Don’t! NO!” Chloe lunged at Harry, throwing off the second bullet. Furious, Harry shoved her aside roughly and took another shot. Chloe quickly inserted herself in Harry’s line of fire, hands held in front of her cautiously. “Stop. Just let him go.” She implored. 

Harry threw her to the ground, and ordered the other thugs in the room to put Nate our of his misery. Chloe gasped and curled into herself slightly in response to the pain shooting through her ribs. After watching the other men disappear, Harry turned to her. Chloe met his glare with one of her own and a defiant jut of her chin. But before he could do anything, an explosion rocked the train. 

“Nate” Chloe breathed and gritting her teeth stood and looked out the window at the derailed train cars as they tumbled down the steep incline next to the tracks. “No. No, no, no….” 

“Well, at least that’s the last of him.” Harry commented flippantly, before snatching Chloe’s arm and marching her to the front of the train once more.


	4. Chapter 4

Nate woke up days later, confused and hurting all over. Groaning, he moved slowly into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Nate rested his head in his hands, trying to make sense of what happened, reviewing everything from the past few days to find out what the last thing he remembered. “Chloe!” He surged forward off the bed, and landed heavily on his knees; his body not quite ready for the rapid change from sitting to standing.

Strangely enough, it was Elena who hurried into the room to check on him. When Nate asked how long he’d been out, how she was there, Elena quickly explained. “You’ve only been here a few days. I followed the tracks to the crash. What happened?” 

“Well, you were right about Chloe….” He reluctantly admitted, “she wasn’t exactly looking for a rescue.” 

“She did this to you?!” Elena exclaimed, pointing at where he was healing. 

“No! I have Flynn to thank for that. No…. what I meant was” Nate shook his head dejectedly. “She, she knew she couldn’t make the escape with me and so she tried to get me to leave without her. Look at how well that ended?” Nate tried to joke. 

Elena gave him a small, sympathetic smile. “Nate, what do you mean she couldn’t” but she was interrupted by Tamzin. There was someone who wanted to meet him, that could help them beat Lazarevic. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

He next saw Chloe in the library. Lazarevic had just ripped into Harry for being incompetent before storming from the room. Flynn handed Chloe the dagger, told her to try and figure out the puzzle, and left to try and amend things with the war criminal. 

Nate huffed, so she must have done something to win back Harry’s trust if he was leaving her with the dagger he thought bitterly. That was until he saw the armed guard in the corner of the room, keeping an eye on her. Nate made his way across the room using the ceiling beams, stopping when he was directly over the guard. Quietly, he dropped down and took out the man, stashing the ammo for later. 

Chloe spun around at the soft sound, “Nate?” She exhaled in disbelief. Approaching him quickly, she cupped his cheek, a broad smile creeping onto her lips. “You’re alive!” Her thumb swept over his skin tenderly. Suddenly, she took a step back, looking around in alarm. “Get out of here. They’ll be back any minute!” 

“Chloe…” He began, giving her a once over as she checked the perimeter for Lazarevic’s men; sighing in relief when he saw no new injuries. “You can come with me this time, no speeding trains, and if I can climb a tower with a bullet wound you can climb it too!” 

The hand not holding the dagger subconsciously gripped her side protectively; the gesture making Nate reconsider whether she had any fresher bruises that he couldn’t see. He closed the distance between them, intending to find out when Chloe chuckled darkly and remarked. “As much as getting shot hurts, love, you and I both know that was more of a graze wound. Otherwise, you” she lightly bopped him on the nose “would still be out of commission. Besides, while you might have super healing abilities, I don’t.” 

“Did he hurt again?” He inquired, reaching for her, insides squirming with anger and guilt. 

“Nate,” she sighed, backing away from him, not wanting to be touched by anyone at the moment. “Just don’t.” When he opened his mouth to press the issue, Chloe elaborated harshly. “Yes. He did. I shot his lieutenant and allowed you to get away with the dagger. Again. What did you expect? That we’d all be friends? Braiding each other’s hair?” She raged, though her voice was carefully controlled to keep from alerting anyone of Nate’s presence. 

“Chloe, I” Nate began. 

“I know.” She cut him off, “I know you never intended for this to happen, and I don’t blame you…completely.” She added trying to tease. “I can make my own decisions, Nate.” 

“Come with me.” Nate requested again. 

“Nate, I can’t. I can barely lift my arms above my shoulders right now. I can’t climb, hang from ledges, swing from rebar or whatever the hell else this climb you’re talking about entails.” Biting the inside of her cheek, Chloe suddenly made up her mind. He wouldn’t be convinced otherwise, and he needed to leave before he got caught. Carefully, Chloe unzipped her jacket and lifted the edge of her t-shirt; revealing the mottled skin underneath. Shades of dark red, purple, blue, and even some green mingled together, leaving only a few patches of unharmed skin in sight. “Now you know why. I’m not exaggerating. I cannot go with you. Now get out of here.” Nate’s breath left him as if he’d been hit, it was far worse than he thought. God, what had he gotten them into? But she was right, she wouldn’t be able to make the climb, not when her ribs had been so abused. 

“If you can’t come with me, at least give me the dagger.” Nate conceded unwillingly, reaching for the artifact expectantly. 

“How am I supposed to explain where it’s gone?!” Chloe held the dagger away, her eyes widening with panic. Nate’s heart dropped slightly, knowing that she’d already been compromised and beaten, but unsure of what else to do if she refused to come with him. 

“You’ll think of something.” Nate responded, unable to ignore how she flinched when he grasped her wrist gently and brought the dagger closer to him. “You always do.” He added, much more softly—attempting to reassure her, she was a world-class liar, she could talk her way out of about anything. But he had already exposed this skill-set to Lazarevic when he chose not to run in Nepal. He only hoped Chloe was still in good enough graces with Flynn to remain relatively safe. 

Taking a shuddering breath, Chloe pinned Nate with a look. “Just do one thing for me?” At Nate’s slight nod, she continued. “Take the son of a bitch down” Chloe then thrust the dagger into his chest and strode away. Her body screaming at her to turn around to get the dagger back, because if she let it go again Lazarevic wouldn’t ‘go easy’, as he called it, on her again. 

Chloe’s stomach churned with anxiety and she chewed on her thumb nail while she crossed the library floor. Attempting to come up with some realistic explanation as to why she no longer had the dagger that was the key to the whole operation. Stopping, Chloe turned and faced Nate again. 

“Knock me out.” She bluntly ordered. Marching towards Nate with renewed purpose. 

“What?!” He exclaimed, backing away from her advance, holding the dagger to his chest with both hands. 

“Knock me out. I can sell that you took out the guard first, and since they didn’t trust me with a gun you overwhelmed me and stole the dagger. But I have to be unconscious when they come back. Literally. Otherwise… well, I’d rather not find out what happens if I don’t sell this one, alright?” 

“Chloe… I can’t hurt you.” Nate said gently, reaching for her. 

Slapping his hand away, Chloe argued, “you don’t do this, and I will get hurt. Guaranteed.” When Nate still hesitated, Chloe burst out, “just, bloody do it and get it over with. They’ll be back soon, and you need time to examine the room.” 

Nate pulled her into a tender hug, one hand cradling the back of her neck and the other wrapped around her waist, mindful of her injuries. “I’m sorry.” He murmured, before spinning her and putting her into a headlock. To her credit, Chloe didn’t struggle against him until the end, but by then it was too late. Nate laid her carefully on the ground, guiltily brushing the stray hairs from her face, before turning to solve the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Chloe woke sometime later to Harry shaking her. Rubbing her neck, Chloe gingerly stood and took in her surroundings. “What happened?” Flynn demanded, white-lipped and gripping her upper arm painfully. 

“What do you bloody think happened?” She hoarsely spat at him, wrenching her arm away and shoving him in the chest. “You leave only one guard and don’t give me a weapon, how the hell was I supposed to stop Drake from doing anything?!” She threw her hands up in frustration. “He dropped down from the ceiling like some bloody monkey, took out the guard first and then knocked me out.” Glancing around the room, Chloe scoffed. “And from the looks of it, he figured something out while you were gone licking boots making me do all the work.” 

Practically vibrating with anger, Harry shouted to one of the armed men by the door. “Tie her up. With ropes this time. She can pick almost any lock, ropes though… she has more trouble with those.” Though Harry portrayed his anger well, Chloe could sense the fear coming off him. He was just as afraid of what Lazarevic would do as she was…not that this was very comforting. Chloe finished this thought as the soldier finished securing her wrists in front of her… moron, she thought, now she could study the knot and come up with ways to undo it. Harry must have noticed the same thing, because he quickly snatched the separate length of rope from the soldier and began to tie Chloe’s forearms together as well, just below the elbow. This would make any kind of escape far more complicated and it forced her to hold her arms either bent up or at awkward angles—making any movements to free herself much more noticeable. 

Just then, Lazarevic strode into the room, “Drake has been spotted, it appears he found the entrance. Come!” With that, he turned and left. Chloe’s breath left her in a rush, how was it that she and Harry weren’t being punished for losing the dagger again? 

Harry exchanged a relieved glance with her before remembering he was pissed off. Grabbing her arm once more, he led her after the warmonger to where Nate was located.


	5. Chapter 5

Lazarevic sent several of his men ahead of them into the small temple room to secure Nate and Elena. As they waited for the signal, Lazarevic turned towards her. “It appears all of your double crossing was for nothing.” 

“I’ve already told you” Chloe began, before Lazarevic dealt her a swift blow to the stomach, forcing all the air out of her lungs and Chloe dropped to her knees from the pain. Lazarevic put two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. 

He chuckled at her gasping attempts to refill her lungs and normalize her breathing. “And what makes you think I believe a single thing that comes out of your traitor mouth?” He released her chin and redirected his attention to Harry. “Untie her and wait for my instructions to bring her in.” Harry nodded and promptly began to do as Lazarevic ordered as the man walked into the chamber where Nate and Elena had been captured. 

Chloe couldn’t hear much of their conversation, but it was long enough for her to catch her breath and stand upright; wincing as she did—another blow to the abdomen really wasn’t what she’d needed. She shifted to look at Harry, hoping to convince him to let her go or do something other than deliver her to Lazarevic at his command. But it was too late, Lazarevic’s voice boomed, “bring her in.” 

Harry drug her forward, gun pressed into her back. Nate’s reaction upon seeing her was less than reassuring, “shit” he grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

Harry handed her off to Lazarevic, who briefly grabbed her to push her along. Chloe flinched, “get your hands off me!” She exclaimed, pulling immediately away from his touch. Grimacing at how the sudden move sent pain shooting through her, she went and stood next to Nate. 

Chloe could feel Elena’s eyes on her, knew the other woman was analyzing her, knew exactly when Elena registered her bruised cheek and split lip, the dark marks still ringing her neck, and now some badly chafed wrists from where she’d fought fruitlessly against the ropes. Chloe forced herself to look at Elena, not wanting to see pity in the other woman’s eyes, but needing to send her a reminding glare to focus on bigger things. 

Lazarevic quickly regained their attention, pointing his gun in turn at Elena then Chloe. “Now, one we will use as a lesson, and the other we will use as incentive to cooperate. You choose.” The man finished his ultimatum, looking at Nate. 

“This is bullshit, Nate.” Chloe warned him, knowing that while one of them may face a quick death now, the other would meet their death as soon as Nate revealed the passage to Shambhala. 

“Yeah, don’t play into his game.” Elena pitched in from his other side. 

Ever the haggler, Nate demanded “you want my help you let them go.” Chloe closed her eyes in anticipation of the outburst. 

“This is NOT A NEGOTIATION!” Lazarevic declared angrily. Switching his gun back and forth between the women, he then continued much more calmly. “Who would you sacrifice? And who would you save? Which would you save, this one? Or maybe this one?” He got closer and closer to them with each statement, the gun now only a few feet from their chests when it was their turn to have it aimed at them. 

Nate swallowed hard, glancing at the women on either side of him. “You know what, enough of this shit!” Now Nate was advancing on Lazarevic, “alright? Enough with the theatrics.” He looked over his shoulder at Chloe again, before returning his attention to the criminal. “I’ll do what you want.” Nate conceded, and walked over to open the passage. 

~~~~ 

Lazarevic’s men opened the gate to Shambhala, and they all walked out slowly, taking in the magnificence that was the lost city. But they weren’t given long to admire their discovery. Lazarevic took one sweeping look of the city before turning towards the trio. 

“Now, you have been a thorn in my side for far too long.” Drawing his gun, he ordered them “on your knees.” The armed men behind them moved to force them to the ground. 

Harry stutteringly interrupted, holding his hand up to his boss. “Hey, hey, uh, Zoran? We had a deal” he indicated towards Chloe. 

“I do not suffer traitors.” Lazarevic spat, pointing his gun at Chloe. 

“Oh, right. So, I suppose you know exactly how to find the stone then and won’t be needing me.” Harry commented nonchalantly. Lazarevic advanced on Chloe and pressed the gun into her temple, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before reopening them and staring Lazarevic down. She heard Nate’s breath leave him in a whoosh and he'd started forward but there was nothing he could do, a soldier stopped Nate's movement roughly. Lazarevic regarded her for a moment longer before pushing her into Harry’s side. “Thanks.” Harry stated, taking a firm hold on Chloe. She scoffed in disgust and went to push him away when Lazarevic recaptured her attention. 

Zoran, having lost the chance to kill the spy, paced away and turning angrily bellowed, “on your knees!” The armed guards moved once more to force Nate and Elena to the ground. Nate immediately put up a fight, trying to yank the machine gun from the soldier. Suddenly, arrows rained down on them from a nearby ledge. Dumbstruck for a moment, no one moved until another hail of arrows fell upon them. 

It was the guardians of Shambhala. Nate and Elena hurriedly grabbed the weapons from the now fallen soldiers, while Chloe caught Flynn in the head with an elbow. She quickly disarmed him, snatching his pistol, she joined Nate and Elena. The three briefly took in the scene in front of them before turning and running away. Not that it did them much good, the bridge gave out underneath the barrage of gunfire and explosions. Sending the trio hurtling into a small courtyard littered with corpses, but at least away from Lazarevic, his men and the guardians. 

Grumbling and wincing, they assessed the area, stripping the dead bodies of any useful weapons and ammunition. Chloe turned to the other two and stated, “alright, Lazarevic and his men would have headed further into the city. If we can just make it back to the entrance it should be clear by now.” 

“Uh, no, Chloe.” Nate began, approaching her. “We’re going after the Chintamani stone.” 

“What?” Chloe exhaled in disbelief. 

“We have to stop Lazarevic,” Elena elaborated. 

“And how exactly, do you plan on doing that?” Chloe countered, looking between the deluded pair in front of her. 

“Get to the stone first before he does and destroy it.” Nate proposed, as if it would be a stroll in the park. 

“Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. Don’t tell me you’re buying into all that supernatural nonsense” Chloe closed the distance between her and Nate to better read his expression. 

“I, I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Nate offered, raising his hands in a half shrug before turning to scavenge for more ammo. 

“Okay. Well, just in case you missed it. That man is certifiable” Chloe stressed. “He thinks he’s fulfilling some sort of prophecy. That the stone will somehow make him invincible.” Chloe had been continuing her approach to Nate but now turned to Elena in desperation. Hoping to win the woman onto her side and the two of them could then get Nate out of there. “Immortal.” 

“We’re standing in the middle of Shambhala, and you’re questioning what’s possible?” Elena argued, causing Chloe to look away in frustration. 

“Yeah, you saw how many bullets they pumped into those things. Something strange is going on here.” Nate pointed out, referring to the guardians. 

“All the more reason to get out while we still can.” Chloe tried to reason with them, before turning to walk away. 

“I’m just trying to set things right.” Nate called after her, trying to make her understand why he wasn’t having her back again, why he wasn’t listening to her very sound logic. 

“And maybe save the world.” Elena added, holstering her gun. 

“Oh, god” Chloe groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose before approaching Elena. “Listen, sunshine. The world. Doesn’t care! You stick your neck out, you are asking to lose your head!” At this last comment, Chloe unconsciously rubbing the bruises on her neck as she backed away from Elena. 

“Chloe,” Nate interjected softly, noticing her action. “You said it yourself, you want to take this guy down.” 

“Yes! And I want to see him pay more than you do!” Chloe countered fervently turning to face him, this time her arm coming to hug her ribs so briefly Nate would have missed it had he not been looking for such a motion. “But that’s not how it will end. This,” Chloe pivoted to gesture at the corpses around them, “this is how it will end.” 

Nate felt guilt squeeze his insides once more for being the reason for her blown cover and subsequent injuries. But he couldn’t turn away from this, he had to stop Lazarevic from getting the stone. And he had to make him pay for what he’d done to Chloe he thought, anger seething just beneath his calm exterior. “No, not this time.” 

Chloe sighed and turned to Elena one more time, even knowing the other woman was against her in this as well. Elena lifted one shoulder at her and tilted her head. “Come on, what do you say?” 

“That you’re crazy!” Chloe bluntly observed. “But…let’s go save your bloody world.” She sighed in defeat, but she caught Nate’s brilliant smile when she’d said she’d join them. 

“Chlo,” he began quietly, taking her arm and gently leading her away from Elena. “Thank you.” At this Chloe rolled her eyes and moved to collect more supplies, but Nate’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Chloe, I mean it. I know this goes against all your instincts, that you want to run and to protect us; especially… especially considering everything you’ve been through this job. But I do need you if we want even a slight chance at winning. So, thank you.” His hand had slid down her arm while he spoke and intertwined their fingers. Chloe, never one for such outright sentiments, simply gave Nate a small smile in return and squeezed his hand. She was leaning in to give him a quick kiss when Elena gave a shout of alarm; the guardians had found them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long, long delay. I just kept getting stuck on this chapter. Luckily, this gave me time to write the next one too while I was figuring this one out though. So double upload! Thanks for sticking with me, enjoy :)

Nate’s epiphany about the tree sap and the Chintamani stone was right, Lazarevic was headed towards the humongous tree at the bottom of the valley. Before they could start to follow a dark chuckle greeted their ears from behind a pillar, the trio turned, guns raised to see a very beat up Harry. 

“Oh Harry,” Chloe began, lowering her gun slightly in sympathy. 

Scoffing, Harry directed his attention to Chloe. “No need to pretend to care now.” Anger radiating from him even as he slid down the side of one of the pillars; unwilling to support his own weight. 

“I’m the one who pretended?!” Chloe exclaimed, her eyes flashing. “You’re the one that abandoned and set up Nate from the get go—pretended we were a team.” Striding away furiously before rounding on the injured man, Chloe continued, her face stony. “You pretended you cared about me…. But you didn’t stop him. Even a friend would have done that much.” 

Harry looked dumbfounded for a moment, before retaliating, “what are you talking about? If it wasn’t for me you’d have a bullet in your head.” He demonstrated as much, placing a hand to his head and acted as though he’d pulled the trigger. 

“You know damn well what she means.” Nate cut in darkly, thinking about the lengths he’d have gone to to protect Chloe from the repeated beatings she endured from Lazarevic. 

Dropping his head slightly, Harry then sneered at Nate, though his words were aimed at Chloe. “I tried to intervene, you saw what happened.” 

“You made one half-hearted attempt to stop him the first time and then allowed yourself to be escorted out with your tail between your legs each time after.” Chloe retorted. “And as for you saving me from a bullet… Well, I’m not some possession you bastard!” Chloe remarked, recalling far too easily how often Flynn had treated her as such since this job had begun; claiming her as his prize for getting Lazarevic to the city. “You don’t get to just have me because you think you’re entitled to me.” She gave Flynn an ugly look and seriously considered shooting him to put them all out of their misery. 

Harry must have seen this in Chloe’s expression because he quickly changed the topic of the conversation. “Disappointed Lazarevic beat ya to it?” Flynn nodded towards the stairs leading to the tree, refocusing the group’s attention on what they’d initially been after. “Afraid you just missed him. Figured I’d stay behind and wait for you to join my little party.” 

“What are you talking about?” Nate demanded, retraining his gun on the injured man. 

“Maybe it’s what Zoran wanted all along… he’s smarter than he looks.” Harry continued to ramble slightly, ignoring Nate’s question. 

Chloe and Nate exchanged a look and began to back away, not liking where this was headed. Though Flynn didn’t appear to be a threat any longer, something was off… Besides there was no reason to waste any more time here arguing with him and let Lazarevic get an even bigger head start. Elena, however, appeared to have other ideas and closed some of the distance between her and Harry. 

“We can help you.” Elena offered, moving even closer. “We can still stop him.” 

“Elena,” Nate warned, taking another microstep away from Flynn. 

“This isn’t a movie,” Flynn replied derisively, giving Elena a once over. “You’re not the plucky girl that reforms the villain and saves the day. It just doesn’t work like that.” He shifted painfully against the pillar and settled himself more firmly against it. 

“Flynn, now listen,” Nate began, before Harry abruptly pulled a grenade from one of his pockets. Nate and Chloe immediately distanced themselves further from Flynn, eyes wide with surprise. Elena’s flight-or-fight system, however, settled on freeze—she didn’t budge her gaze locked on the handheld bomb. 

“Parting gift from Lazarevic,” Flynn supplied, holding the small device above his head. “Pity, he took the pin.” Flynn smiled bitterly, before slowly opening his hand and letting the grenade drop. 

“Get back!” Nate screamed, finally noticing that Elena hadn’t backed away with them, he’d been too fixated on Harry. 

“Elena!” Chloe called out, already seeing what little she knew of the other woman’s life flash before her. Then there was the blast. 

~~~~~~ 

Chloe came too gradually, her ears ringing loudly and vision swimming—if she hadn’t had a concussion before, she certainly had one now. As she blinked slowly, she realized that Nate was next to her deliberately picking himself up from the floor where he’d been thrown, coughing from the dust. 

Rocking back unsteadily to his knees, Nate placed a hand on her thigh and asked her something. But Chloe couldn’t make it out, the ringing in her head, though dying down, was still too loud. “What?!” She shouted, pushing herself up as well. 

“Are you okay?” Nate questioned again, exaggerating his words so that she could read his lips as well. Chloe nodded and pointed at him to see if he was alright in return, Nate nodded and ran his hands over his face several times. It was only when a small whimper met their ears that their blast-addled brains remembered they weren’t alone. 

“No.” Nate muttered, surging up and towards where Elena lay on the ground covered in grime and blood. 

“Oh my god,” Chloe breathed, taking in the damage the bomb had done. There wasn’t anything to be done…but unlike before with Jeff, Chloe couldn’t even imagine leaving Elena behind. Even when the blonde suggested that they do just that, go and stop Lazarevic, Chloe and Nate moved as one and hoisted her up and began to carry her down the stairs and towards the tree with Nate providing cover when they ran into more of the warmonger’s soldiers.


	7. Chapter 7

After carefully helping Chloe settle Elena on a broken bench, Nate stood and paced away before turning back to Chloe. “Head for the gate, go as fast as you can” he instructed. 

“Wha, what do you mean?” Chloe inquired, still kneeling next to Elena. She then saw Nate glance at where Lazarevic had gone, his feet inching in that direction. “No. No way.” She stood and advanced towards him. 

“Look, Chloe, I have to end this.” He claimed, hands on his hips, staring at the ground. 

“No, you don’t.” She stated, eyes wide and shining slightly. “Don’t you dare take on this stupid crusade!” She was cut off by Elena’s gasps of pain, Chloe hurried back over to check on her. 

“Just get her out of here” Nate took advantage of Chloe’s distraction to start after Lazarevic. 

“Not without you!” She exclaimed, standing once more—there wasn’t much she could do for Elena now, but she could still save Nate. 

“Look, if that stuff could really transform Lazarevic and his army…” Nate started, still walking towards the broken staircase. 

“Please. Don’t do this…” Chloe begged, trailing after him. 

“If it could really make him invincible and I didn’t try and stop it…” He’d stopped moving though, and finally turned to met Chloe’s eyes; wishing he hadn’t now that he saw the emotion welling up in them. 

“But this is suicide” she pointed out, gripping his forearm tightly. “And you know it.” Her voice broke at the end, as she tried to get him to stay with her. 

“Just go” Nate implored. “Get as far away from this place as you can.” He cupped Chloe’s face with his hands, thumbs brushing over her cheeks. He kissed her then, long and hard, trying to pour as much as he could into it. Unsure if he’d ever see her again. When he broke away, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment. Closing his eyes, he kissed her forehead once and then turned and leapt off the small ledge leading to the tree at the bottom of the valley. 

Taking a shuddering breathe, Chloe called after him. “I’ll get her out Nate. But you bloody better come back, because I’ll be waiting for you at the gate.” Taking one last look at his retreating form, Chloe steeled herself and then went to usher Elena out of this damn city. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Chloe got Elena through the gate and close to the stairs leading back out into the mountains before setting the injured woman down and heading back. She reached the entrance of Shambhala and a cry of alarm escaped her lips before she could bite it back. The place was going up in flames, plumes of smoke filled the air and parts of the city were collapsing. 

“Nate…” She whispered, holding onto the stair railing for support as her knees weakened and her eyes filled with tears. He was a lucky son-of-a-bitch… but he’d already survived a plunge off a cliff with Sully, being shot, and an exploding train car that fell off a mountain—and even with that kind of run, Chloe couldn’t help but think that his lucky streak had finally ended. 

Just then a shout reached her ears, an “oh, shit” that she’d recognize anywhere. Heart pounding, she practically flew down the stairs and rounded a corner to see Nate fleeing from more of the guardians. Despite their situation, a smile broke out across Chloe’s face. That man had to be blessed or something, she thought, as she pulled her gun and aimed at the closest beast and fired. 

Nate started at the gun shot, but looked up and saw Chloe covering him. Grinning he redoubled his pace, shouting out to her. “Saving my ass again!” But the ground suddenly shook, and began to give way beneath them. Their eyes met for one terrifying second before they began to slide down the steep incline that had once been the ground. 

“Chloe!” Nate screamed, but wasn’t able to warn her more before one of the guardians leapt from its perch and landed on her, trying to pummel her to death prior to her flying off the edge. He could hear her startled shout, followed by grunts of pain and exertion trying to get the beast off her. But the thing was massive and strong, and she was already hurt. Nate pulled out the pistol he’d somehow managed to hold onto and took aim as he slid. It took him far longer than he was comfortable with to hit the beast enough times that Chloe was able to kick it off. She barely managed to grab hold of a ledge in time, her lower legs swinging dangerously over the edge. A pained whimper escaped her at the sudden jolt. 

Nate sighed in relief, having grabbed another ledge after seeing Chloe was safe. He yelled down to her, “you okay to climb?” 

“Oh yeah, cowboy,” she answered breathless and laughing through the pain and at her close call. “I’m just dandy!” She leveraged herself up and then began to climb, willing her adrenaline to continue numbing the pain. Every now and then she glanced up to see how Nate was progressing up the slope. He’d disappeared over the top before her, and when she approached he reached out and hulled her up the rest of the way. 

Once she was safe, Nate yanked her into a bone crushing hug, burying his face into her neck. Chloe gasped at the pain shooting through her but clung to him just as tightly; her hands fisting the back of his shirt and cheek pressed hard against his shoulder—reassuring herself that he was alive. Another vibration from an explosion brought them back to reality. Smiling at one another, they sprinted up the stairs to where Chloe had left Elena. 

“What the hell did you do back there?” Chloe demanded, glancing over her shoulder at the collapsing city. 

“Oh, you know, save the world.” Nate smirked, nudging her as they loped up the final steps. With dust and small debris beginning to fall from the ceiling, Nate scooped Elena up in his arms and took off, Chloe ready to provide any cover they might need during their escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably only one chapter left after this one! Should be coming soon, I have most of it done. Turns out procrastinating on one chapter really motivates you to work on others.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, sorry for the wait.

By some stroke of luck, they’d all survived their trip to Shambhala. Certainly worse for wear, but her bruises were fading and ribs healing, Nate’s graze wound was almost closed and Elena was recovering in one of the houses in Tamzin’s village. So yeah, beat up but wonderfully alive. Nate was standing in middle of the village at Shepherd’s grave when Chloe approached him, coming to a stop next to him. 

“So, it’s been a long, strange trip. Hasn’t it?” She noted, clasping her hands behind her back. 

“Yes, it has” Nate admitted, causing Chloe to chuckle. “You know, you should play the hero more often. Suits you.” He observed, turning towards her smiling. 

Chloe scrunched her face as though thinking hard, “nah” she playfully replied, smirking. Nate grinned and laughed, though she rejected the role, he had a feeling it would be one she played again in the future—hopefully with him. His train of thought was interrupted when Chloe spoke up again, tilting her head at him. “Tell me something, Nate.” 

“What?” Nate inquired, curious. 

“Do you love her?” Though she’d intended to look at him directly and analyze his facial expressions, when Chloe asked her question she looked away. Unwilling to see the answer in his face before he said anything. She’d seen how he reacted when he thought Elena was going to die, it was more than that of a friend afraid of losing another friend. Or even that of an ex afraid of losing a past girlfriend. 

Nate hesitated. He knew that he’d loved Elena at one point, they’d made a great run at it after finding El Dorado. But so much had changed since then, he’d changed, and Chloe had reentered his life and she made him feel alive. She was intelligent, sarcastic, funny, tough as hell and didn’t take shit from anyone; especially him. She didn’t passive aggressively suggest that he find work other than treasure hunting, didn’t scold him for taking risks, for doing illegal activities in order to make a job work—hell, Chloe was right there with him robbing the place. Chloe understood him, always had his back—even when he didn’t know it, and she kept him grounded with her skepticism, more worried about their lives than being the hero (something he needed). No, while he may have loved Elena once and would likely love her in some capacity for a while. He wasn’t IN love with her. Not anymore. 

“Chloe, I’m sorry” he went to apologize, for making her feel as though he loved someone else while in a relationship with her. But apparently his hesitation and how he started to reply gave Chloe a very different impression of how the conversation was going to go. 

A tight smile appeared on her lips, and she blinked rapidly a few times before meeting Nate’s gaze. “No. It’s fine.” When Nate looked like he was going to interrupt, Chloe pressed on, voice trembling a bit. “Really, it’s alright. Just do yourself a favor, cowboy. Tell her.” She nodded towards where Elena had just emerged from one of the houses, with Sully assisting her. 

“Chloe” Nate tried again, wanting to correct her. 

“Nooo,” Chloe cut him off again, patting his cheek she gave him a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “My turn to walk away.” She nodded at him once more before stepping away and turning to leave. 

“Now wait a damn minute” Nate stated, irritated that she wouldn’t listen to him. He hurried to block Chloe’s exit route. 

“Nate, don’t draw this out.” She requested, giving him that same half-smile as before. “My dignity is still intact, leave it that way.” She moved to walk around him. Nate shifted with her, blocking her way once more. Now she was annoyed, why couldn’t he just let it be? Let her leave feeling as though she’d made the choice and not been rejected for sunshine over there. “Nate” Chloe all but growled in warning, her jaw jutting to the side. 

“I love you!” He blurted, knowing that if he didn’t tell her the truth immediately, she would forcibly remove him from her path. 

Chloe scoffed in disbelief and refused to meet his eyes at this declaration. “I’m a big girl, Nate. No need to try and spare my feelings. Now move.” Even with her collected exterior, Nate could tell that his words had hit home. She just wasn’t willing to accept them when there was so much left unexplained about his relationship with Elena. 

“Chloe, please listen.” He gently gripped her upper arms, trying to get her to look at him. “I did love her once. I did. But not anymore, not in that way.” At this Chloe stopped glancing around the village to meet his eyes, he could still see the challenge that lingered in her gaze. She was daring him to convince her that he was telling the truth. Because god help him if she didn’t believe him and he was spouting out these feelings just to try and spare her. But he also saw a glimmer of hope hidden beneath the challenge, so he forged ahead. “I love you. Kind of always did.” He shrugged, grinning crookedly at her. 

Chloe huffed and opened her mouth to retort, Nate was sure she’d bring up how he walked away. So, he beat her to it. “That’s why I left before.” At this her mouth snapped shut, struck silent for the first time since Nate had met her. “Chlo, I was falling hard for you and it scared the shit out of me. So, I ran. I ran away to find what was familiar—the thrill of a new job, hunting treasure with Sully. And it worked for a while, until it didn’t.” He admitted, making sure that Chloe was hearing every word he said. 

“And that’s when you met sunshine…” Chloe supplied, eyes darting to where Elena and Sully stood, though she was guessing at the timeline. 

“Yeah.” Nate mumbled, “that’s when I met Elena.” His gaze briefly followed Chloe’s, finding where Elena and Sully were standing watching his conversation with Chloe. “And at the time it felt right. It was different. And different is what I needed, because if it had reminded me of you in any way I was probably would’ve run again. Besides, you get me, like no one else has.” He continued, at this however, Chloe quirked an eyebrow, her mouth lifting into a skeptical smirk. “Besides Sully” Nate amended, causing Chloe to chuckle. 

“Nate…” Chloe sobered, attempting to interject and shaking her head slightly. His heart sank, he wasn’t being convincing enough, he couldn’t lose her again, not after purposely losing her in the first place, not after almost losing her so many times this trip. 

“I love you.” He firmly stated again, running his hands down her arms to grip her hands between his. “Took me reconnecting with you again before this job to fully realize it. To realize that while I did love Elena, it wasn’t nearly at the same level that I loved you.” He trapped her hands between his chest and hands, hoping that she could feel how frantically his heart was beating. 

The softest smile Nate had ever seen appeared on Chloe’s face, her eyes lighting up as well. She slid one of her hands from his grip and brushed the corner of his mouth before pulling him in for a searing kiss; she’d never been one for words. 

“Love you too, cowboy.” She mumbled against his lips, just in case he needed that reassurance as she had. 

Nate’s face lit up and he wrapped an arm around her and led her further away from the others, stopping by a fence overlooking the mountains. 

“So…on a scale of one to ten, how scared were you for my safety this trip?” She teased, trying to put them back on more familiar ground to distract from the fact that they’d gotten touchy-feely by their standards. 

“Hmm? Oh, like a four.” He quipped, though his arm tightened involuntarily around her waist just thinking of how many times they could’ve died this time. 

“Four.” She repeated, her accent bleeding through more strongly in her surprise; though she didn’t miss how he clung to her. “A four.” 

“Yeah, why?” He kept his tone purposefully light, though it was a struggle to keep his face straight. 

“You were at least an eight, love.” She raised an eyebrow at him, “definitely an eight.” She nodded decisively. 

“What? An eight? Those guardian things were an eight.” He scoffed, delighting more than a little in Chloe’s incredulous expression. 

“Are you kidding me?” She deadpanned, pinching his side where her own arm had snaked around him. 

“Yeah, those things were terrifying.” He stole a chaste kiss from her, causing her to wrinkle her nose. 

“What’s a ten?” Chloe couldn’t help but ask, enjoying their banter. 

“Clowns.” 

She blinked, “clowns.” Nate hummed in acknowledgement. “Clowns,” she repeated, eyeing him to try and determine if he was serious. 

“I, I really hate clowns.” He supplied, chuckling under his breath, his fingers tracing along her hip. 

“Ass.” She muttered, though she leaned into him further and kissed him again, wrapping both arms around his waist and keeping them there. 

Nate hummed again and pressed a brief kiss against Chloe’s forehead before turning his attention back to the mountains in front of them. “Now what?” 

“Oh, I don’t know cowboy, plans have always been your thing.” She tipped her head to smile wryly up at him. 

Nate laughed and held her tighter against him, “another adventure then. Together.” 

He felt Chloe’s head nod against his chest more than he saw it, “together it is then.”


End file.
